I’ve been going to Riccardo’s longer than anywhere in the city except Wrigley Field, whose bleachers were introduced to my butt in 1938. For Riccardo’s it was 1950, a year before I was old enough to drink, but they served me a glass of red wine with my spaghetti anyway. Since then, as a hangout and more than occasionally as a dining room, Ric’s has disappointed me a lot less than the multifarious occupants of Wrigley Field–except for when the Bears used to play there.
During all those years, Riccardo’s offered one of the very few outdoor cafes in town. It wasn’t until the 70s that the City Council permitted outdoor service almost anywhere.
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But last year the brothers sold it off to Ted Mouzakeotis, a longtime patron who has been in the restaurant business, and Robert Keck Jr., a lawyer. They shuttered the place, opened the upstairs barroom for the regulars, and a couple of months later unveiled the new Riccardo’s.
Chef Jonathon Draper, keeping things generally Italianate, has settled in on the things he does best, including five little pizzas priced $5.25-$5.95–all good, but especially the spinach-gorgonzola job with sun-dried tomatoes ($5.50).
The fried calamari appetizer ($4.95) is generally crisp and tender enough to satisfy. Beef carpaccio ($5.50) was too thin and translucent to retain much flavor. There’s a lot of rich flavor, however, in the warm spinach salad with a rich melting of goat cheese atop ($5.50).
